The South West Fly Fair has become an eagerly anticipated event on the West Country Anglers Calendar and is well worth a visit on the eve of a new salmon and trout season. Don’t think its all about trout and salmon though as there is something for anglers of every persuasion. I hope to see you there on the day.
Ragworm have been hard to dig this year which may have contributed to a slightly lower than normal attendance of twenty six in Appledore Shipbuilders Christmas Competition. Fishing was steady with only two members not being able to tempt a flounder and 55 fish brought back to the scales with the majority returned after being weighed. The winner of this year’s competition and taking home the trophy and the XL turkey was Terry Dymond who caught a fine flounder of 1lb 12, the runner up was Theresa Babb who pushed Terry close with a 1lb 11 1/8ozs, in third was David Langbridge with a flounder of 1lb 10 1/4ozs. Best fish by a Junior was Chelsea Babb with a flounder of 1lb 9 3/8ozs.
Ashley Bunning enjoyed a cracking weekend in rough conditions at Upper Tamar Lake landing six carp to 17lb 12oz. All fish fell to Burton Bait Rollers new test bait and Lakebed leads distance leads.
Mark Frith landed this stunning shore caught pollock scaling 8lb 4oz whilst fishing from a North Devon Rock Mark. The fish was tempted using a squid bait presented on a pennel rig.
Once again many thanks to Martin Turner for his excellent and much appreciated reports from North Devon Match Group.
North Devon Match Groups Christmas Competition was held at Oaktree top and bottom lakes.
1st Kevin Shears 70lb 2oz
2nd Neilsen Jeffery 52lb 8oz
3rd Paul Elworthy 49lb 3oz
4th Peter Slade 39lb 6oz
5th Keith Copland 34lb 13oz
6th Phil Watters 29lb 5oz.
15 anglers turned up for our final match of the year , Kevin continued his tremendous form with a convincing victory from the outlet peg on the bottom pond his all carp catch fell to maggot over micros , Neilsen drew on the top lake and his with corn on the pole for 2nd spot ,which also ensured that he wins Matchman of the Year , Paul’s 3rd place catch from the bottom lake means that he finished 2nd in the Championship.Despite the damp blustery conditions most people managed a few fish and all left with a prize, Thanks to everyone for attending the matches this year ,Happy , Christmas and lets do it all again next year, may your elastics stretch far!!
Blakewell Fishery wish all their customers and visitors a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Many thanks for support and custom in 2017, we very much look forward to seeing you back at Blakewell in 2018, Tight Lines… Richard & John Nickell
Festive Flies to tempt a chunky Blakewell rainbow
Flounder enthusiasts cast their lines into the Taw estuary in the hope of securing their Christmas Dinner. The top ten lucky winners were as follows.
1 Darren Short 1lb 9 3/8oz
2 Nigel Gullen 1lb 8 1/8oz
3 Nathan Clements 1lb 7 3/4oz
4 John password 1lb 7 1/4oz
5 Taz Wotton. 1lb 6 3/4oz
6 Dennis Toleman 1lb 5 3/4oz
7 Steve Luxton. 1lb 3 1/2oz
8 Nick Braunton 1lb 3/1/8oz
9 Paul downing 1lb 3oz
10. Devlin Wotton. 1lb 2 7/8oz
Nine members fished Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Clubs Christmas Competition at Blakewell Fishery where all competitors caught their five fish limit bags. The winner was Colin Combe who had a five fish bag totalling 24lb 8oz that included a fine 12lb 1oz rainbow trout. In runner up spot was Paul Grisley with five for 20lb 12oz. In third was Nigel Bird with five for 19lb.
A dozen club members fished in Combe Martin Sea Angling Club’s Christmas Competition that saw five specimen fish registered. The winner was (myself) Wayne Thomas with a spurdog scaling 12lb 3oz.
Kevin Legge was runner up with a spurdog of 11lb 10oz. Kevin also landed a spurdog of 10lb 6oz and a bull huss of 10lb 3oz.
(Above) Kevin Legge with his 11lb 10oz spurdog
(Above) Kevin Legge with a spurdog of 10lb 6oz.
(Above) Kody Chugg was third with a fine specimen conger of 23lb 1oz.
Members fished a wide variety of marks along the North Devon and Somerset coastline where they landed a variety of species including whiting, dogfish, thornback ray, grey mullet and pouting in addition to the specimen fish registered.
There is something special about the local tackle shop; a vital part of angling’s social structure and a focal point where you are likely to bump into fellow anglers and engage in fishy talk. In North Devon we are fortunate to to have several great tackle shops each of them having a special niche within the local angling scene. At this time of year the local tackle shop is of course a great place to locate Christmas presents for the angler! I am very grateful for the support North Devon Angling News receives from Summerlands Tackle at Westward Ho!, High Street Tackle, Ilfracombe and North Devon Tackle in Barnstaple.
(Above) Jamie Miller at North Devon Tackle where they stock an extensive range of bait and tackle for Carp, Coarse and Sea anglers. Click on their advert below to browse on line. An ideal present for anglers is a gift voucher for North Devon Tackle.
( Above) Danny Watson at High Street Tackle Ilfracombe. Danny and Pauline specialize in bass fishing lures and carry a very impressive range to tempt both angler and bass. They also have a a wide range of sea and coarse tackle to satisfy the needs of all local anglers.
(Above) Just a few of the lures on display at High Street Tackle. Click on the advert below to browse on line.
(Above) Heather at Summerlands Tackle Westward Ho! Summerlands tackle is well established family business that has a vast range of tackle for all angling disciplines their latest offers that would make ideal Christmas presents are :-
Fenix 1750 Lumen’s headlight – HP30R was £139.99 now £116.99
Rovex Boots – Was £49.99 now £39.99
Deeper Pro + was £219.99 now £199.99 (Below)
Free 525 Mag 2 Reel with every Century Beachcaster sold whilst in stocks last. Click on the advert below to browse on line.
I am sure all the local tackle dealers would like to wish a Merry Christmas to all their customers. The recent news regarding the reprieve for bass anglers will come as a relief to all our local tackle dealers. Whilst it is unfair that anglers are restricted to catch and release for bass when commercial fishing can still retain fish it is far better than the total ban that was being discussed.
I would like to to wish all our local tackle dealers a Happy and prosperous New Year. As I said earlier local tackle shops are part of anglings rich social network; many a fishing excursion has been planned in the tackle shop.